Chì sinn a chèile 'rithist
by Gaelcelt
Summary: Half in Gaelic, half in English. Postquest. Pippin is in though about the war of so long ago... and mourns for Sam and Frodo. Merry assures him that they will be reunited.


Honestly, these characters aren't mine! 

The dialogue's written in (Scottish) Gaelic to give the story a feeling of Middle-Earth (Meadhan-thalmhain), of the world in which this takes place.

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"A Phippin, dè 'tha 'toirt dragh thugad?" Merry had noticed the weariness in Pippin's eyes for a long while, ever since they had arrived in Gondor. Merry's once golden curls were now almost white, much of the russet of Pippin's hair was also replaced by white, though their faces were largely spared by age.

"Chan eil fhios 'am, a Mhearaich...," Pippin answered, his voice soft and tired, "'S e gun urrainn dhomh uile rud chuimhneachadh... chan eil mi gam faicinn is cluinntinn cha mhòr..." Merry nodded. He understood. He could recall the brutality and fervor of the great battles long ago.

"Gu dearbh, a Phippin. 'S urrainn dhomh iad chuimhneachadh cuideachd, eadhon ged thachair iad o chionn fhada. Roimh a' Bhaile mhòr Bhàn, far bha na cogaidhean deireannach air thachairt... far bha iad an caigeann a-rithist..." he spoke with a tenderness. Pippin shivered, his aged eyes shone with tears as he recalled that day... so heartbreaking yet so wonderful when he found Merry near one of the dead Oliphaunts. Merry had been weakened and injured but he was alive. The sensations of that moment were still felt strongly by them.  
_  
"An dùraiginn a smaoineachadh mar a b'fhaodainn air bhith a bhith nan do chaill sibh... no nan robh thu air bhàsachadh...?"_ Pippin thought of how different things could have been. It frightened him to think that they could have very well lost the war, or lost each other. Pippin had uttered a silent thank you so many times since then for sparing them.

"Shuidh mi ri taobh do leabaidh gu dhùisg thu, a rùinein, ma tha thu 'cuimhneachadh sin..." Merry smiled at the memory of waking up to Pip's careworn but joyous face in the Houses of Healing.

"A Mhearaich... tha fios 'am a bheil e air bhith gu ìre bhig o chionn dh'fhàg Frodo, agus ùine o chionn dh'fhàg sinn an t-Sìorrachd... ach tha mi a' gabhail fadachd orra... 's mathaid tha beagan thruaighean agam mun cuairt na rudan nach d'rinn iad..."

The things that they never did. Merry felt the same way quite often, guilty about the things that they never did. He missed the Shire as much as Pippin did, more so now that they were too old to go back... and Frodo... everyone that they had known was there... and Sam. They'd left him.

"Chan urrainn dhomh chuideachadh smaoineachadh timcheall Sam... tha mi 'n dòchas dìreach a bidh e gu math..." Merry thought aloud.

"Tha. Tha mi 'n dòchas sin cuideachd, a Mhearaich..." Would Sam ever see Frodo again? The thought frightened Pippin. He gave a little cry as he hid his face in Merry's bosom, holding onto the one that he loved for dear life.

"A Mhearaich, cho mòran ri bha gràdh againn air Frodo, chan urrainn dhomh thòiseachadh ach smaoineachadh timcheall mar a bha gaol aig Sam air... agus an acaid a bheil mi cinnteach chaidh troimhe..." even if it was ages ago, they remembered the day crystal clear... it broke Pippin's own heart as he recalled Sam's heartbroken face as he watched the ship sailing away... carrying the one that he loved with her... while they mourned for Frodo, they had also continued on their own affair behind Diamond and Estella's backs. But Sam... he was alone, emotionally though not physically. If not for his and Rosie's friendship, and her caring, he would have fallen apart.

"Uisd, a ghaoil. A Phippin...!" Merry felt his pain from that day and he embraced the younger Hobbit. "Creid a chì iad a chèile 'rithist, a leannain..." Merry gazed off into the distance in the late-afternoon light. The sunset, so evocative for him, seemed to illuminate the happenings of the Great War... to steer their thoughts toward the West.

"A bheil thu 'smaoineachadh a fàgaidh Sam Meadhan-thalmhainn, a Mhearaich?" Pippin murmured, "Nuair bàsaichidh Ròsag... mar a thuirt e gun dèanadh e...?"

Merry nodded, smiling a little. As much as Sam loved the Shire and adored Rosie, it was clear that his heart was with Frodo and wherever Frodo would go. Sam had told them of his intentions and it was obvious to them that he would carry them out.

"Ach am faic sinn iad a-rithist...?"

"Chì. Chì sinn iad a-rithist, an dèidh dham chrìoch ar beath' an-seo." They would see Frodo and Sam again, somehow. Merry knew that they would, though how they would he did not know.  
He had to smile. At their age, Pippin's curiosity and naivety hadn't changed much.

They spent some moments of silence there, watching the bright colors of the sunset.


End file.
